Semi-automated inventory transfer station

ABSTRACT

An inventory transfer station is provided in connection with a workspace of an inventory management system. At the inventory transfer station, items are transferred from container holders to empty containers thereby generating containers that may fulfill orders for items. The inventory transfer station may be semi-automatically configured to transfer items from the container holders to the empty containers utilizing a vertical reciprocating conveyor that feeds empty containers to the inventory transfer station via an inbound conveyor lane associated with the inventory management system. Containers that have received items from the container holder may be transferred to an outbound conveyor lane that may, via the vertical reciprocating conveyor, feed fulfilled containers to a shipping area of the workspace.

BACKGROUND

Modern inventory systems, such as those in mail order warehouses, supplychain distribution centers, airport luggage systems, and custom-ordermanufacturing facilities, face significant challenges in responding torequests for inventory items. As inventory systems grow, the challengesof simultaneously completing a large number of packing, storing, andother inventory-related tasks become non-trivial. In inventory systemstasked with responding to large numbers of diverse inventory requests,inefficient utilization of system resources, including space, equipment,and manpower, can result in lower throughput, unacceptably long responsetimes, an ever-increasing backlog of unfinished tasks, and, in general,poor system performance. Additionally, expanding or reducing the size orcapabilities of many inventory systems requires significant changes toexisting infrastructure and equipment. As a result, the cost ofincremental changes to capacity or functionality may be prohibitivelyexpensive, limiting the ability of the system to accommodatefluctuations in system throughput.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates example inventory transfer stations for movinginventory within an inventory management system as described herein, inaccordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates components of an inventory management system, inaccordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates in greater detail the components of an examplemanagement module that may be utilized in particular embodiments of theinventory management system as described herein, in accordance with atleast one embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of an example inventory transferstation for moving inventory within an inventory management system asdescribed herein, in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative view of an example inventory transferstation for moving inventory within an inventory management system,including a two tier container staging area configured to interact withcontainers provided by a conveyor lane as described herein, inaccordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative view of an example inventory transferstation for moving inventory within an inventory management system,including an inventory transfer lane and a queue lane (accumulationarea) configured to provide containers with inventory to an outboundconveyor lane as described herein, in accordance with at least oneembodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic view of an example inventory transferstation for moving inventory within an inventory management system asdescribed herein, in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example flow for determining a sequence to mergecontainers with inventory into an outbound conveyor lane as describedherein, in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram depicting example acts forimplementing techniques relating to managing movement of inventory at aninventory transfer station included in an inventory management system asdescribed herein, in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram depicting example acts forimplementing techniques relating to determining a sequence to mergecontainers with inventory into an outbound conveyor lane as describedherein, in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram depicting example acts forimplementing techniques relating to determining a sequence to mergecontainers with inventory into an outbound conveyor lane as describedherein, in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 12 illustrates an environment in which various features of theinventory management system can be implemented, in accordance with atleast one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, various embodiments will be described. Forpurposes of explanation, specific configurations and details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments.However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that theembodiments may be practiced without the specific details. Furthermore,well-known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscurethe embodiment being described.

Embodiments herein are directed to an inventory management system havingmultiple container holders and drive units for moving the containerholders. Specifically, features herein are directed to managing thetransfer of inventory at inventory transfer stations within theinventory management system. The container holders may include one ormore containers configured to hold items within the inventory managementsystem. Unmanned mobile drive units are provided to move the containerholders among one or more locations of a facility (e.g., a warehouse)such as to one or more inventory transfer stations (e.g., item pickstations) within the inventory management system. The container holdersmay operate within a storage area of the facility and hold inventoryitems (within the containers) going to or coming from the storage area.The container holders may be placed in the storage area next to othercontainer holders to form one or more rows of dense storage. Thefacility may include an inventory processing area which includes thoseareas where inventory is processed (e.g., receiving areas, pickingareas, stowing areas, packing areas, shipping areas, consolidationareas, quality control areas, and any other suitable areas within thefacility). The inventory transfer stations may be located in theinventory processing area for processing inventory within the facility.The inventory processing area may be separate from the storage area. Thefacility may generally operate at full capacity meaning that thelocation and configuration of the inventory transfer stations enableefficient use of the space available within the facility and/or theinventory processing area. To this end, two or more inventory transferstations may be adjacently configured to interact with a centralizedconveyor system that both semi-automatically provides empty containersfor the fulfillment of orders for items, stowing of items in containersfor movement to other areas of the facility (consolidation), or transferof inventory from one facility to another, by an operator who transfersinventory from container holders that are provided by an unmanned mobiledrive unit, and transfers fulfilled containers (containers with items)to a shipping area or other area of the facility. Each inventorytransfer station may include a two tier container staging area: an uppertier for temporarily storing inbound empty containers into which itemsmay be placed and, a lower tier for temporarily storing inbound emptycontainers into which items may be placed and for transfer of fulfilledcontainers to an accumulation area. The two tier container staging areamay be coupled with an inbound conveyor lane (for semi-automaticallyproviding empty containers) and an outbound conveyor lane (forsemi-automatically transferring fulfilled containers to other areas ofthe facility). In embodiments, the container staging area may includeonly one or more than two tiers, and each tier may include any number ofitem transfer lanes to receive empty containers and items to be placedtherein. An elevator assembly may be coupled with the conveyor lanesthat utilizes a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC) to move emptycontainers to the inbound conveyor lane and fulfilled containers to theoutbound conveyor lane. Instructions may be provided, and logicdetermined for a release sequence of fulfilled containers from theaccumulation area to the outbound conveyor lane, by a management modulethat is communication with each inventory transfer station and unmannedmobile drive unit, as well as other associated upstream or downstreamcomponents and processes, within the inventory management system totransfer empty containers, fulfilled containers, and inventory asdescribed herein. The use of semi-automated adjacent/parallel/mirroredinventory transfer stations within the inventory management system mayimprove efficiency of movement of inventory within the inventorymanagement system and improve ergonomics at each station for operatorsprocessing inventory at the stations. This may include allowing theinventory management system to operate at maximum capacity.

In one example, two or more inventory transfer stations may be adjacentto each other and located within a facility. The inventory transferstations are a physical location where inventory may be transferred fromcontainer holders to empty containers, e.g., for item order processingor from fulfilled containers to the container holders, e.g., forstorage. Each inventory transfer station therefore includes a two tiercontainer staging area coupled with inbound and outbound conveyor lanes.The conveyor lanes and two tier container staging area for each stationmay be coupled with an elevator assembly that includes a containerde-stacker for semi-automatically feeding empty containers to eachstation and a VRC for transferring the empty containers to the inboundconveyor lane and fulfilled containers from the outbound conveyor laneto another area of the facility, such as a shipping area. An operator islocated at each station and receives instructions via a user deviceregarding which containers to pick inventory from and where to placesaid inventory to create fulfilled containers. For example, in responseto receiving a customer order for an item, a container holder, whichincludes a number of containers, is moved by an unmanned mobile driveunit from a storage area to a particular inventory transfer stationwithin the facility. One of the containers of the container holderincludes the item associated with the customer order (i.e., an outbounditem). Meanwhile, the elevator assembly, VRC, and inbound conveyor lanetransfer empty containers to the two tier container staging area wherethe operator will transfer an empty container to one of the upper tieror the lower tier of the two tier container staging area. The operatormay remove inventory from a particular container of the container holderand place the inventory in the empty container in the upper or lowertier in response to information provided by the user device thatcorresponds to the customer order. The operator may then transfer thefulfilled container, such as by transferring and/or physically pushingthe container, to an accumulation area that is coupled to the lowertier. Fulfilled containers may be temporarily held in the accumulationarea until merging logic has been determined and provided by amanagement module that is in communication with each inventory transferstation. Upon receiving instructions from the management module, theaccumulation areas of the two stations may release or merge variousfulfilled containers to the outbound conveyor lane according to thedetermined merging logic. The accumulation areas may temporarily holdand release the fulfilled containers via a lock mechanism incommunication with an actuator. In this manner, inventory associatedwith customer item orders may be efficiently processed via thesemi-automatic inventory transfer station, while maximizing the space ofthe facility and improving the ergonomics at each station for theoperators.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates example inventorytransfer stations for moving inventory within an inventory managementsystem, in accordance with at least one embodiment. FIG. 1 includes twoinventory transfer stations (item pick stations) 100 and 102 in anadjacent configuration that are operated by two operators 104 and 106.Each station 100 and 102 includes a two tier container staging area 108and 110 that includes an upper tier 112 and a lower tier 114. It shouldbe noted that the operator can be a human, or any automated orsemi-automated machinery robot operator. The lower tier is coupled to anaccumulation area 116 for temporarily storing fulfilled containerstransferred from the lower tier before merging to an outbound conveyorlane (pictured below inbound conveyor lane 118 without an identifier forimage clarity). The stations 100 and 102, and therefore the stagingareas 108 and 110, are coupled with an elevator assembly 120 via theinbound conveyor lane 118 and outbound conveyor lane. The elevatorassembly 120 may include a VRC 122 and a container de-stacker 124. Asdescribed herein, the elevator assembly 120, VRC 122, and containerde-stacker 124 may be configured to semi-automatically single out andprovide empty containers 126 to each staging area 108 and 110 via theinbound conveyor lane 118 and transfer fulfilled containers 128 (withinventory 130) to a shipping area of the facility via the outboundconveyor lane and trunk lines 132 and 134.

In an embodiment, as a customer order for an item is received,instructions may be provided to an unmanned mobile drive unit (notpictured) to move a particular container holder 136 to station 100 forprocessing by operator 104. The container holder 136 may include one ormore containers 138 that include inventory, such as inventory 130, thatmay be transferred by operator 104 to fulfill the customer order. Uponthe operator 104 placing inventory in a previously empty container inthe upper or lower tiers 112, 114, the operator 104 may transfer the nowfulfilled container to the accumulation area 116. The accumulation area116 may utilize a lock mechanism coupled with an actuator to temporarilystore the fulfilled containers before instructions are received to mergethe fulfilled containers from both stations 100 and 102 to the outboundconveyor lane. As described herein, a management module (not pictured)in communication with stations 100 and 102 may determine merging logicfor the fulfilled containers and provide appropriate instructions to thevarious actuators to release and merge the fulfilled containers inaccordance with the determined merging logic to provide efficienttransfer of the fulfilled containers to the elevator assembly 120, VRC122, and trunk lines 132 and 134 to be transferred to any subsequentcomponents, processes, or stations. The adjacent or parallelconfiguration of inventory transfer stations 100 and 102 coupled withthe elevator assembly 120 and conveyor lanes 118 maximize the use ofspace within the facility while increasing the efficiency of fulfillingcustomer orders by semi-automatically providing empty containers,removing fulfilled containers, and determining merging logic to maximizethe use of a single outbound conveyor lane that is coupled to twoinventory transfer stations.

FIG. 2 illustrates the components of an inventory management system 210.Inventory management system 210 includes a management module 215, one ormore mobile drive units 220, one or more inventory holders 230, and oneor more inventory stations 250. Mobile drive units 220 transportinventory holders 230 between points within a workspace 270 in responseto commands communicated by management module 215. Each inventory holder230 stores one or more types of inventory items. As a result, inventorymanagement system 210 is capable of moving inventory items betweenlocations within workspace 270 to facilitate the entry, processing,and/or removal of inventory items from inventory management system 10and the completion of other tasks involving inventory items.

Management module 215 assigns tasks to appropriate components ofinventory management system 210 and coordinates operation of the variouscomponents in completing the tasks. These tasks may relate not only tothe movement and processing of inventory items, but also to themanagement and maintenance of the components of inventory managementsystem 210. For example, management module 215 may assign portions ofworkspace 270 as parking spaces for mobile drive units 220, thescheduled recharge or replacement of mobile drive unit batteries, thestorage of empty inventory holders 230, or any other operationsassociated with the functionality supported by inventory managementsystem 210 and its various components. Management module 215 may selectcomponents of inventory management system 210 to perform these tasks andcommunicate appropriate commands and/or data to the selected componentsto facilitate completion of these operations. Although shown in FIG. 2as a single, discrete component, management module 215 may representmultiple components and may represent or include portions of mobiledrive units 220 or other elements of inventory management system 210. Asa result, any or all of the interaction between a particular mobiledrive unit 220 and management module 215 that is described herein may,in particular embodiments, represent peer-to-peer communication betweenthat mobile drive unit 220 and one or more other mobile drive units 220.The components and operation of an example embodiment of managementmodule 215 are discussed further below with respect to FIG. 3.

Mobile drive units 220 move inventory holders 230 between locationswithin workspace 270. Mobile drive units 220 may represent any devicesor components appropriate for use in inventory management system 210based on the characteristics and configuration of inventory holders 230and/or other elements of inventory management system 210. In aparticular embodiment of inventory management system 210, mobile driveunits 220 represent independent, self-powered devices configured tofreely move about workspace 270. Examples of such inventory systems aredisclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0143427, published on Jun.7, 2012, titled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR POSITIONING A MOBILE DRIVE UNIT”and U.S. Pat. No. 8,280,547, issued on Oct. 2, 2012, titled “METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR TRANSPORTING INVENTORY ITEMS”, the entire disclosures ofwhich are herein incorporated by reference. In alternative embodiments,mobile drive units 220 represent elements of a tracked inventorymanagement system configured to move inventory holder 230 along tracks,rails, cables, crane system, or other guidance or support elementstraversing workspace 270. In such an embodiment, mobile drive units 220may receive power and/or support through a connection to the guidanceelements, such as a powered rail. Additionally, in particularembodiments of inventory management system 210 mobile drive units 220may be configured to utilize alternative conveyance equipment to movewithin workspace 270 and/or between separate portions of workspace 270.

Additionally, mobile drive units 220 may be capable of communicatingwith management module 215 to receive information identifying selectedinventory holders 230, transmit the locations of mobile drive units 220,or exchange any other suitable information to be used by managementmodule 215 or mobile drive units 220 during operation. Mobile driveunits 220 may communicate with management module 215 wirelessly, usingwired connections between mobile drive units 220 and management module215, and/or in any other appropriate manner. As one example, particularembodiments of mobile drive unit 220 may communicate with managementmodule 215 and/or with one another using 802.11, Bluetooth, or InfraredData Association (IrDA) standards, or any other appropriate wirelesscommunication protocol. As another example, in a tracked inventorymanagement system 210, tracks or other guidance elements upon whichmobile drive units 220 move may be wired to facilitate communicationbetween mobile drive units 220 and other components of inventorymanagement system 210. Furthermore, as noted above, management module215 may include components of individual mobile drive units 220. Thus,for the purposes of this description and the claims that follow,communication between management module 215 and a particular mobiledrive unit 220 may represent communication between components of aparticular mobile drive unit 220. In general, mobile drive units 220 maybe powered, propelled, and controlled in any manner appropriate based onthe configuration and characteristics of inventory management system210.

Inventory holders 230 store inventory items. In a particular embodiment,inventory holders 230 include multiple storage bins with each storagebin capable of holding one or more types of inventory items. Inventoryholders 230 are capable of being carried, rolled, and/or otherwise movedby mobile drive units 220. In particular embodiments, inventory holder230 may provide additional propulsion to supplement that provided bymobile drive unit 220 when moving inventory holder 230.

Additionally, in particular embodiments, inventory items may also hangfrom hooks or bars (not shown) within or on inventory holder 230. Ingeneral, inventory holder 230 may store inventory items in anyappropriate manner within inventory holder 230 and/or on the externalsurface of inventory holder 230.

Additionally, each inventory holder 230 may include a plurality offaces, and each bin may be accessible through one or more faces of theinventory holder 230. For example, in a particular embodiment, inventoryholder 230 includes four faces. In such an embodiment, bins located at acorner of two faces may be accessible through either of those two faces,while each of the other bins is accessible through an opening in one ofthe four faces. Mobile drive unit 220 may be configured to rotateinventory holder 230 at appropriate times to present a particular faceand the bins associated with that face to an operator or othercomponents of inventory management system 210.

Inventory items represent any objects suitable for storage, retrieval,and/or processing in an automated inventory management system 210. Forthe purposes of this description, “inventory items” may represent anyone or more objects of a particular type that are stored in inventorymanagement system 210. Thus, a particular inventory holder 230 iscurrently “storing” a particular inventory item if the inventory holder230 currently holds one or more units of that type. As one example,inventory management system 210 may represent a mail order warehousefacility, and inventory items may represent merchandise stored in thewarehouse facility. During operation, mobile drive units 220 mayretrieve inventory holders 230 containing one or more inventory itemsrequested in an order to be packed for delivery to a customer orinventory holders 230 carrying pallets containing aggregated collectionsof inventory items for shipment. Moreover, in particular embodiments ofinventory management system 210, boxes containing completed orders maythemselves represent inventory items.

In particular embodiments, inventory management system 210 may alsoinclude one or more inventory stations 250 (e.g., inventory transferstations). Inventory stations 250 represent locations designated for thecompletion of particular tasks involving inventory items. Such tasks mayinclude the removal of inventory items from inventory holders 230, theintroduction of inventory items into inventory holders 230, the countingof inventory items in inventory holders 230, the decomposition ofinventory items (e.g. from pallet- or case-sized groups to individualinventory items), the consolidation of inventory items between inventoryholders 230, and/or the processing or handling of inventory items in anyother suitable manner. In particular embodiments, inventory stations 250may just represent the physical locations where a particular taskinvolving inventory items can be completed within workspace 270. Inalternative embodiments, inventory stations 250 may represent both thephysical location and also any appropriate equipment for processing orhandling inventory items, such as scanners for monitoring the flow ofinventory items in and out of inventory management system 210,communication interfaces for communicating with management module 215,and/or any other suitable components. Inventory stations 250 may becontrolled, entirely or in part, by human operators or may be fullyautomated. Moreover, the human or automated operators of inventorystations 250 may be capable of performing certain tasks to inventoryitems, such as packing, counting, or transferring inventory items, aspart of the operation of inventory management system 210.

Workspace 270 represents an area associated with inventory managementsystem 210 in which mobile drive units 220 can move and/or inventoryholders 230 can be stored. For example, workspace 270 may represent allor part of the floor of a mail-order warehouse in which inventorymanagement system 210 operates. Although FIG. 2 shows, for the purposesof illustration, an embodiment of inventory management system 210 inwhich workspace 270 includes a fixed, predetermined, and finite physicalspace, particular embodiments of inventory management system 210 mayinclude mobile drive units 220 and inventory holders 230 that areconfigured to operate within a workspace 270 that is of variabledimensions and/or an arbitrary geometry. While FIG. 2 illustrates aparticular embodiment of inventory management system 210 in whichworkspace 270 is entirely enclosed in a building, alternativeembodiments may utilize workspaces 270 in which some or all of theworkspace 270 is located outdoors, within a vehicle (such as a cargoship), or otherwise unconstrained by any fixed structure.

In operation, management module 215 selects appropriate components tocomplete particular tasks and transmits task assignments 218 to theselected components to trigger completion of the relevant tasks. Eachtask assignment 218 defines one or more tasks to be completed by aparticular component. These tasks may relate to the retrieval, storage,replenishment, and counting of inventory items and/or the management ofmobile drive units 220, inventory holders 230, inventory stations 250and other components of inventory management system 210. Depending onthe component and the task to be completed, a particular task assignment218 may identify locations, components, and/or actions associated withthe corresponding task and/or any other appropriate information to beused by the relevant component in completing the assigned task.

In particular embodiments, management module 215 generates taskassignments 218 based, in part, on inventory requests that managementmodule 215 receives from other components of inventory management system210 and/or from external components in communication with managementmodule 215. These inventory requests identify particular operations tobe completed involving inventory items stored or to be stored withininventory management system 210 and may represent communication of anysuitable form. For example, in particular embodiments, an inventoryrequest may represent a shipping order specifying particular inventoryitems that have been purchased by a customer and that are to beretrieved from inventory management system 210 for shipment to thecustomer. Management module 215 may also generate task assignments 218independently of such inventory requests, as part of the overallmanagement and maintenance of inventory management system 210. Forexample, management module 215 may generate task assignments 218 inresponse to the occurrence of a particular event (e.g., in response to amobile drive unit 220 requesting a space to park), according to apredetermined schedule (e.g., as part of a daily start-up routine), orat any appropriate time based on the configuration and characteristicsof inventory management system 210. After generating one or more taskassignments 218, management module 215 transmits the generated taskassignments 218 to appropriate components for completion of thecorresponding task. The relevant components then execute their assignedtasks.

With respect to mobile drive units 220 specifically, management module215 may, in particular embodiments, communicate task assignments 218 toselected mobile drive units 220 that identify one or more destinationsfor the selected mobile drive units 220. Management module 215 mayselect a mobile drive unit 220 to assign the relevant task based on thelocation or state of the selected mobile drive unit 220, an indicationthat the selected mobile drive unit 220 has completed apreviously-assigned task, a predetermined schedule, and/or any othersuitable consideration. These destinations may be associated with aninventory request the management module 215 is executing or a managementobjective the management module 215 is attempting to fulfill. Forexample, the task assignment may define the location of an inventoryholder 230 to be retrieved, an inventory station 250 to be visited, astorage location where the mobile drive unit 220 should park untilreceiving another task, or a location associated with any other taskappropriate based on the configuration, characteristics, and/or state ofinventory management system 210, as a whole, or individual components ofinventory management system 210. For example, in particular embodiments,such decisions may be based on the popularity of particular inventoryitems, the staffing of a particular inventory station 250, the taskscurrently assigned to a particular mobile drive unit 220, and/or anyother appropriate considerations.

As part of completing these tasks mobile drive units 220 may dock withand transport inventory holders 230 within workspace 270. Mobile driveunits 220 may dock with inventory holders 230 by connecting to, lifting,and/or otherwise interacting with inventory holders 230 in any othersuitable manner so that, when docked, mobile drive units 220 are coupledto and/or support inventory holders 230 and can move inventory holders230 within workspace 270. While the description herein focuses onparticular embodiments of mobile drive unit 220 and inventory holder 230that are configured to dock in a particular manner, alternativeembodiments of mobile drive unit 220 and inventory holder 230 may beconfigured to dock in any manner suitable to allow mobile drive unit 220to move inventory holder 230 within workspace 270. Additionally, asnoted herein, in particular embodiments, mobile drive units 220represent all or portions of inventory holders 230. In such embodiments,mobile drive units 220 may not dock with inventory holders 230 beforetransporting inventory holders 230 and/or mobile drive units 220 mayeach remain continually docked with a particular inventory holder 230.

While the appropriate components of inventory management system 210complete assigned tasks, management module 215 may interact with therelevant components to ensure the efficient use of space, equipment,manpower, and other resources available to inventory management system210. As one specific example of such interaction, management module 215is responsible, in particular embodiments, for planning the paths mobiledrive units 220 take when moving within workspace 270 and for allocatinguse of a particular portion of workspace 270 to a particular mobiledrive unit 220 for purposes of completing an assigned task. In suchembodiments, mobile drive units 220 may, in response to being assigned atask, request a path to a particular destination associated with thetask. Moreover, while the description herein focuses on one or moreembodiments in which mobile drive unit 220 requests paths frommanagement module 215, mobile drive unit 220 may, in alternativeembodiments, generate its own paths.

Components of inventory management system 210 may provide information tomanagement module 215 regarding their current state, other components ofinventory management system 210 with which they are interacting, and/orother conditions relevant to the operation of inventory managementsystem 210. This may allow management module 215 to utilize feedbackfrom the relevant components to update algorithm parameters, adjustpolicies, or otherwise modify its decision-making to respond to changesin operating conditions or the occurrence of particular events.

In addition, while management module 215 may be configured to managevarious aspects of the operation of the components of inventorymanagement system 210, in particular embodiments, the componentsthemselves may also be responsible for decision-making relating tocertain aspects of their operation, thereby reducing the processing loadon management module 215.

Thus, based on its knowledge of the location, current state, and/orother characteristics of the various components of inventory managementsystem 210 and an awareness of all the tasks currently being completed,management module 215 can generate tasks, allot usage of systemresources, and otherwise direct the completion of tasks by theindividual components in a manner that optimizes operation from asystem-wide perspective. Moreover, by relying on a combination of bothcentralized, system-wide management and localized, component-specificdecision-making, particular embodiments of inventory management system210 may be able to support a number of techniques for efficientlyexecuting various aspects of the operation of inventory managementsystem 210. As a result, particular embodiments of management module 215may, by implementing one or more management techniques described herein,enhance the efficiency of inventory management system 210 and/or provideother operational benefits.

FIG. 3 illustrates in greater detail the components of an examplemanagement module 215 that may be utilized in particular embodiments ofthe inventory management system as described herein, in accordance withat least one embodiment. As shown, the example embodiment includes aninventory station module 300, a mobile drive unit module 302, a mergelogic module 304, an inventory station metric module 306, an inventoryorder module 308, a communication interface module 310, a processor 312,and memory 314. Management module 215 may represent a single component,multiple components located at a central location within inventorymanagement system 210, or multiple components distributed throughoutinventory management system 210. For example, management module 215 mayrepresent components of one or more mobile drive units 220 that arecapable of communicating information between the mobile drive units 220and coordinating the movement of mobile drive units 220 within workspace270 or components of inventory transfer stations that are capable ofcommunicating information between each inventory transfer station andcoordinating the movement of inventory within workspace 270. In general,management module 215 may include any appropriate combination ofhardware and/or software suitable to provide the describedfunctionality.

Processor 312 is operable to execute instructions associated with thefunctionality provided by management module 215. Processor 312 maycomprise one or more general purpose computers, dedicatedmicroprocessors, or other processing devices capable of communicatingelectronic information. Examples of processor 312 include one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs) and any othersuitable specific or general purpose processors.

Memory 314 stores processor instructions, inventory requests,reservation information, state information for the various components ofinventory management system 210 and/or any other appropriate values,parameters, or information utilized by management module 215 duringoperation such as performance metrics associated with each inventorytransfer station. Memory 314 may represent any collection andarrangement of volatile or nonvolatile, local or remote devices suitablefor storing data. Examples of memory 314 include, but are not limitedto, random access memory (RAM) devices, read only memory (ROM) devices,magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices or any other suitabledata storage devices.

Inventory station module 300 may be configured to determine and provideinstructions to various components of the inventory transfer stationslocated within the inventory management system. The inventory stationmodule 300 may generate or determine various tasks that are communicatedto the components of the inventory transfer station such as: the inboundconveyor lane, the outbound conveyor lane (where each conveyor laneincludes a sequencing belt connected to a variable control drive forincreasing or decreasing the speed of each conveyor), the VRC, actuatorsor other locking mechanisms (such as pneumatic locks) coupled with theaccumulation area, or the empty container de-stacker. Further, theinventory station module 300 may provide signals to an operatorinteracting with a particular inventory transfer station via visualand/or audio indicators associated with the inventory transfer station(such as utilizing a put-to-light system) or any other suitableindicator to aid the operator in placing inventory in the correct emptycontainer in accordance with a customer order. The inventory stationmodule 300 may determine and provide instructions, as described above,based on metrics obtained or received by the inventory station metricmodule 306, or information from the inventory order module 308 and mergelogic module 304. In embodiments, the inventory station module 300 andthe mobile drive unit module 302 may be configured to utilizeperformance metrics of particular inventory transfer stations toinstruct particular unmanned mobile drive units to move containerholders to said particular stations for more efficient transfer and/orprocessing. For example, the location of each station, the performanceof each station, or the current level of waiting fulfilled containersmay be utilized as data points to direct the mobile drive units andorders to be associated with each transfer station.

Mobile drive unit module 302 may be configured to generate and provideinstructions to unmanned mobile drive units within the inventorymanagement system in accordance with a task to move a particularcontainer holder to or from a particular inventory transfer station. Forexample, the mobile drive unit module 302 may, upon receiving orderinformation from inventory order module 308, generate and provide a task(or instructions) to an unmanned mobile drive unit to retrieve acontainer holder and move to an inventory transfer station to allow anoperator to remove inventory within one or more containers of thecontainer holder. The operator may place the inventory in a previouslyempty container thereby creating a fulfilled container which may betransferred to an accumulation area as described herein. In embodiments,the inventory transfer stations may be utilized to store inventory intoparticular containers included in container holders and instructions maybe generated and provided to mobile drive units to move the containerholders back to a storage area of the inventory management systemsubsequent to inventory being placed in the containers.

Merge logic module 304 may be configured to determine and provideinstructions which indicate a sequence to release fulfilled containersfrom an accumulation area to an outbound conveyor lane that is part ofan inventory transfer station as described herein. The merge logicmodule 304 may determine this merging logic based on one or more datapoints that include metrics obtained by the inventory station metricmodule 306 (that indicate performance of each inventory transferstation) and prioritization information obtained by the inventory ordermodule 308. The merging logic may be communicated to the inventorystation module 300 or directly to each inventory transfer station viathe communication interface module 310. The merge logic module 304 mayimplement a supervised machine learning algorithm that utilizes theinventory transfer station metrics (data points) and prioritizationinformation to determine the optimal discharge sequence for a pluralityof inventory transfer stations that share various components (such as ashared inbound/outbound conveyor lane and VRC). The machine learningalgorithm may update/change based on new metrics obtained from eachstation and may be further modified by the merge logic module 304 inaccordance with the prioritization information such as by overriding oradjusting the determined optimal sequence to ensure particular fulfilledcontainers are released in a particular order. Thus, the machinelearning algorithm may utilize operator feedback, inventory transferstation feedback, and facility/workspace feedback to update or changethe sequence of release for fulfilled containers at each station. In anembodiment, the merge logic module 304 may have one or morepredetermined sequences of release algorithms to invoke/utilize based ondata received from each inventory transfer station. For example, if aparticular pair or group of inventory transfer stations that sharecomponents are experiencing a lull in inventory transfers, the mergelogic module 304 may invoke a predetermined “release all” algorithm thatmerely relies on the optical density signals or other signals receivedfrom fulfilled containers to effect immediate release of the fulfilledcontainers upon receipt in the accumulation area.

Inventory station metric module 306 may be configured to obtain andmaintain various performance metrics from each inventory transferstation within the inventory management system. Performance metrics mayinclude operator throughput speed, conveyor lane speed information, VRCspeed information, de-stacking speed of an associated empty containerde-stacker, time stamps of fulfilled containers received at theaccumulation area, total dwell time of a fulfilled container within theinventory management system before shipping (either in response to acustomer order, in response to a consolidation request, or in responseto an inventory transfer request between facilities or worksites),equipment effectiveness information (such as voltage or current requiredby various components of the inventory transfer station). Inembodiments, operator throughput speed includes any suitable metricsobtained from observing, obtaining, or capturing a particular operatorsspeed in processing inventory transfers at an inventory transfer stationin response to any of the requests or processes described herein. Asdescribed herein, the performance metrics may be communicated orprovided to the merge logic module 304 for use in generating theaforementioned merging logic. In an embodiment, the management module215 may utilize particular performance metrics (such as the equipmenteffectiveness information) to generate and provide instructions tomaintenance operators associated with the inventory management system.For example, the management module 215 may be configured to utilize aset of policies or rules that indicate acceptable voltage ranges,speeds, and operator throughput for the inventory transfer stations.Upon violation of any of the rules or policies, instructions may begenerated to other personnel associated with the inventory managementsystem to perform maintenance or further investigate a particularinventory transfer station to determine the problem leading to therule/policy violation.

Inventory order module 308 may be configured to receive and maintainorder information associated with a customer order of an item orinventory stored within the inventory management system. The inventoryorder module 308 may provide instructions to an operator at a transferstation, via a user device, to marry a particular item to a particularempty container for further processing (e.g., packing and shipping) atother areas of the inventory management system or facility. Inembodiments, each inventory transfer station may be configured toutilize scanning equipment, such as a bar code reader, radio frequencyidentification (RFID) reader, or any suitable identification scanner, toidentify each incoming empty container at the inventory transferstation. A particular customer order may be associated with each scannedempty container for further placement of inventory that corresponds tothe customer order by an operator at the inventory transfer station. Theinventory order module 308 may provide placement information that may beutilized by the inventory station module 300 in generating and providingthe appropriate signals/indications for use at each inventory transferstation to guarantee placement of the empty containers by the operatorin an appropriate lane within the station. The inventory order module308 may determine prioritization or release of particular containersthat are associated with certain orders based on information associatedwith said orders. For example, if fast delivery is associated with aparticular order, prioritization information may be provided to theinventory order module 308 and merge logic module 304 to aid in meetingany shipping deadlines associated with the order. In an embodiment, theinventory order module 308 may determine prioritization or release ofparticular containers based on inventory transfer station performancemetrics, as described above, without requiring a customer order. Inembodiments, determining prioritization for particular containers mayaid processing and transferring inventory from one area of theworkspace/facility to another or from one workspace/facility to anotherworkspace/facility. In an embodiment, items and inventory may betransferred at the inventory transfer stations described herein toachieve inventory balancing across facilities, for consolidation ofitems or orders, in response to requests from other facilities,distribution centers, sortation centers, or for any suitableinter-facility transfers.

Communication interface module 310 facilitates communication betweenmanagement module 215 and other components of inventory managementsystem 210, including customer order information, inventory stationperformance metrics, prioritization information, merging logicinstructions, route requests, route responses, and task assignments. Thecustomer order information, inventory station performance metrics,prioritization information, merging logic instructions, route requests,route responses, and task assignments may represent communication of anyform appropriate based on the capabilities of management module 215 andmay include any suitable information. Depending on the configuration ofmanagement module 215, communication interface module 310 may beresponsible for facilitating either or both of wired and wirelesscommunication between management module 215 and the various componentsof inventory management system 210 including mobile drive units 220 andinventory transfer stations. In particular embodiments, managementmodule 215 may communicate using communication protocols such as 802.11,Bluetooth, or Infrared Data Association (IrDA) standards. Furthermore,management module 215 may, in particular embodiments, represent aportion of mobile drive unit 220 or other components of inventorymanagement system 210 such as inventory transfer stations. In suchembodiments, communication interface module 310 may facilitatecommunication between management module 215 and other parts of the samesystem component.

In general, inventory station module 300, mobile drive unit module 302,merge logic module 304, inventory station metric module 306, inventoryorder module 308, and communication interface module 310 may eachrepresent any appropriate hardware and/or software suitable to providethe described functionality. In addition, as noted above, managementmodule 215 may, in particular embodiments, represent multiple differentdiscrete components and any or all of inventory station module 300,mobile drive unit module 302, merge logic module 304, inventory stationmetric module 306, inventory order module 308, and communicationinterface module 310 may represent components physically separate fromthe remaining elements of management module 215. Moreover, any two ormore of inventory station module 300, mobile drive unit module 302,merge logic module 304, inventory station metric module 306, inventoryorder module 308, and communication interface module 310 may sharecommon components. For example, in particular embodiments, inventorystation module 300, mobile drive unit module 302, merge logic module304, inventory station metric module 306, and inventory order module 308represent computer processes executing on processor 312 andcommunication interface module 310 comprises a wireless transmitter, awireless receiver, and a related computer process executing on processor312.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of an example inventory transferstation for moving inventory within an inventory management system asdescribed herein, in accordance with at least one embodiment. FIG. 4depicts one inventory transfer station 400 (although embodimentsdescribed herein may include two or more adjacent inventory transferstations that share an elevator assembly and conveyor lane components)that includes a two tier container staging area comprised of an uppertier 402 and a lower tier 404 coupled with an accumulation area 406. Inembodiments, the upper tier 402 may temporarily store inbound emptycontainers 408 until they are transferred by an operator (not pictured)to the lower tier 404 where inventory may be placed in the previouslyempty containers. The fulfilled containers in the lower tier 404 maythen be transferred, either by the operator or by other mechanismsdescribed herein, to the accumulation area 406. The two tier containerstaging area may be coupled with an inbound conveyor lane 410 and anoutbound conveyor lane 412. The inbound conveyor lane 410 may beconfigured to provide or feed an empty container 414 to the upper tier402 of a particular inventory transfer station such as station 400. Theoutbound conveyor lane 412 may be configured to remove or transferfulfilled containers from the accumulation area to the VRC 416 forfurther movement to an outbound trunk line 418. In an embodiment, theoperator may move empty containers from the inbound conveyor lane 410 toeither the upper tier 402 or lower tier 404 for placement of inventory.Once a fulfilled container in the upper tier 402 is generated, theoperator may move the fulfilled container from the upper tier 402 to thelower tier 404 and further into the accumulation area 406. Containersthat become fulfilled in the lower tier 404 may be moved or transferredto the accumulation area 406 as described herein. The utilization ofboth the upper tier 402 and lower tier 404 to generate fulfilledcontainers may enable the fulfillment of more inventory transferrequests by the operator at an inventory transfer station.

The inventory transfer station 400 also includes an elevator assembly420 coupled with the conveyor lanes 410, 412, and an empty containerde-stacker 422. The empty container de-stacker 422 is configured tode-stack or single out a stack of empty containers 408 to a singlecontainer 424 which may be subsequently moved by the VRC 416 to theinbound conveyor lane 410 in accordance with at least one embodiment. Inembodiments, the empty container de-stacker 422 may be configured tomerely transfer containers with inventory to the VRC 416 in accordancewith an inventory stow embodiment. Instructions provided by themanagement module 215 may convert the empty container de-stacker 422 toa transfer of fulfilled container operation. In embodiments, an operatorassociated with the inventory management system may provide the stacksof empty containers 408 for processing by the empty container de-stacker422 or the stack of empty containers 408 may automatically be providedby other components such as an unmanned mobile drive unit. In accordancewith at least one embodiment, the inventory transfer station 400 may beone component of a vertical multi-floor facility configuration. Thevertical multi-floor facility configuration may include a singleinventory transfer station on each floor for performing various aspectsof the inventory transfer techniques described herein. For example, theelevator assembly 420 and VRC 416 may be configured to transferfulfilled containers to other floors within the facility for furtherprocessing, transfer empty containers to the inbound conveyor lane 410received from another floor within the facility, or transfer fulfilledcontainers from the inventory transfer station 400 to another floorwhere another inventory transfer station may move the inventory to adifferent container holder in accordance with an item stowing operation.In embodiments, the elevator assembly 420 may be replaced with a spiralchute or inclined conveyor to transfer fulfilled or empty containers toother floors or other parts of the inventory management system. In anembodiment, the unmanned mobile drive units can be used to transferinventory among multiple vertically separated floors so that the floorscan operate separately and collectively for efficient fulfillment oforders. In embodiments, the management module may be configured toreceive an indication or signal that a particular floor of themulti-floor configuration is faulty. Upon receiving such a signal themanagement module may be configured to generate and provide instructionsto the inventory transfer stations to change from a single directioninventory processing station to a bi-directional inventory processingstation as described herein. In some embodiments, the management modulemay utilize facility or workspace information or indications todynamically update the operation and configuration of particularinventory transfer stations. For example, the management module mayreceive an indication that a large amount of inventory has recently beenreceived at a facility. Thus, instructions may be generated and providedto particular inventory transfer stations to update the station fromfulfilling orders to stowing or storing inventory, e.g., into containerholders/containers brought to each station by the unmanned mobile driveunits.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative view of an example inventory transferstation for moving inventory within an inventory management system,including a two tier container staging area configured to interact withcontainers provided by a conveyor lane as described herein, inaccordance with at least one embodiment. The inventory transfer station500 depicted in FIG. 5 includes an operator 502 interacting with a twotier container staging area that includes an upper tier 504 and a lowertier 506. The two tier container staging area is coupled with a conveyorlane 508 configured to provide empty containers 510 to the upper tier504 as described herein. In embodiments, each empty container mayinclude an image based scanning identifier 512, such as a bar code orRFID, for scanning by a user device or computing device (not pictured)associated with the inventory transfer station 500 and/or the operator502.

The image based scanning identifier 512 may be read/scanned as the emptycontainers 510 are fed into the upper tier 504 of the two tier containerstaging area. As described above, the management module 215 may utilizethe image based scanning identifier 512 to associate particular ordersand inventory to a particular container for tracking and processingthroughout the inventory management system. Further, the upper and lowertiers 504 and 506 may utilize one or more visual indicators 514 to aidthe operator in placing an empty container 510 in the proper placewithin the tiers and/or placing or removing inventory from thecontainers. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates a put-to-light system(visual indicators 514) that is controlled by the management module 215.The put-to-light system may comprise a light emitting diode (LED)coupled with a momentary contact switch that is placed in the lower tier506 to indicate to the management module 215 that the operator hasplaced an empty container in the appropriate position within the twotier container staging area. In embodiments, the inventory transferstation 500, upon receiving instructions from the management module 215,may be converted to a bi-directional conveyor configuration thatutilizes one conveyor lane to provide empty containers 510 and remove ortransfer fulfilled containers to the elevator assembly, VRC, andoutbound trunk lanes (not pictured).

For example, the conveyor lane 508 may be configured with abi-directional motorized roller that is coupled to the conveyor lane 508and controlled by the management module 215 which determines when toswitch between feeding empty containers to and taking fulfilledcontainers away from the inventory transfer station. The inventorytransfer station 500, and therefore the management module 215, mayutilize optical density sensor technology to determine that all lanesfor empty containers within the upper and lower tiers 504, 506 are fullof empty containers 510 as the trigger to switch the conveyor lane 508to remove fulfilled containers from the upper and lower tiers 504, 506for transfer to the elevator assembly and VRC. Optical density sensortechnology may also be utilized to provide an indication to themanagement module 215 as to the status of the accumulation area (notpictured) of an inventory transfer station 500. In embodiments, opticaldensity sensor technology includes any suitable time of flight signaltechnology between the source of the optical density sensor and theinventory transfer stations. This can include any electronic signaltechnology that can determine the elapsed time period between atransmission of a signal from a source and return of the signal, or atleast a portion thereof, back to the source. For example, the distancebetween the optical density sensor and the accumulation area of theinventory transfer station with and without a fulfilled container may beknown as well as the speed of the signal (e.g., the speed of light forlasers for example) to determine the presence or absence of thefulfilled container in the accumulation area or other parts of theinventory transfer station. In embodiments, other sensor technology maybe utilized for determining the presence or absence of a fulfilledcontainer or container in the accumulation area. For example, proximitysensors, photoeyes, light curtains, contact sensors, imaging devices orcameras, near field communication (NFC) technology, radio frequencyidentification (RFID) technology, or any other suitable sensortechnology may be utilized in place of or in combination with any of thedescribed sensor technology to aid the management module 215 indetermining the presence or absence of the fulfilled container within anarea of the inventory transfer station. The merge logic module 304 mayutilize the optical density indication to determine the number offulfilled containers available and waiting in the accumulation area formerging into the outbound conveyor lane.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative view of an example inventory transferstation for moving inventory within an inventory management system,including an inventory transfer lane and one or more queue lanes(accumulation area) configured to provide containers with inventory toan outbound conveyor lane as described herein, in accordance with atleast one embodiment. FIG. 6 includes the lower tier 600 of a two tiercontainer staging area. The two tier container staging area includes anaccumulation area 602 coupled with an outbound conveyor lane 604configured to move fulfilled containers 606 from multiple inventorytransfer stations. The lower tier 600 is configured to removably receiveempty containers 608 from an upper tier (not pictured) of the two tiercontainer staging area.

As described herein, the inventory transfer station may include one ormore visual indicators 610 to aid in instructing an operator to place anempty container into the appropriate lane within the lower tier 600. Anoperator, upon placing an item or inventory within an empty containersuch as container 608 may transfer the fulfilled container 606 to theaccumulation area 602. In embodiments, the inventory transfer stationmay utilize other methods for transferring fulfilled containers 606 fromthe lower tier 600 to the accumulation area 602. For example, the lowertier may be configured so that most of the surface area of the container608 rests on a precipice between the lower tier 600 and accumulationarea 602 which would enable the placement of inventory to provide enoughforce to push the fulfilled container 606 over the precipice and ontothe accumulation area 602. In embodiments, fulfilled containers may betransferred to the accumulation area 602 via wheels that require a smallamount of force, by utilizing a span track roller, or automated methodssuch as by utilizing a vulcanized roller that uses high frictionmaterials to pull the fulfilled container from the lower tier 600 to theaccumulation area 602 upon receiving an instruction from the managementmodule 215.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic view of an example inventory transferstation for moving inventory within an inventory management system asdescribed herein, in accordance with at least one embodiment. FIG. 7includes an inventory transfer station 700 that may be mirrored toanother inventory transfer station (not pictured) across the inboundconveyor lane 702 and outbound conveyor lane 704. The inventory transferstation 700 includes the two tier container staging area that comprisesat least an upper tier 706 and a lower tier 708, a user device 710 forproviding instructions to the operator 712 regarding placement orremoval of inventory, and a reading/scanning device 714 forreading/scanning visual image identifiers or other identifiersassociated with incoming empty containers and/or inventory.

As described herein, as empty containers are provided by the inboundconveyor lane 702, the reading/scanning device 714 may interact with thevisual image identifiers and provide unique identifier information tothe management module 215 to aid in associating containers with ordersreceived from customers for inventory stored within the inventorymanagement system. FIG. 7 also illustrates a container holder 716 withone or more containers 718 that may store inventory. Upon receivinginstructions from the management module 215, an unmanned mobile driveunit may move the container holder 716 from a storage area within theinventory management system to the inventory transfer station 700. Thecontainer holder 716 may be docked or moved within a certain range ofthe inventory transfer station 700 to enable the operator 712 totransfer inventory within containers 718 to containers in the upper orlower tiers 706, 708 of the two tier container staging area. The userdevice 710 may provide instructions to the operator 712 indicating whichinventory to remove from containers 718 and place in the containersincluded in the upper or lower tiers 706, 708 based on a determinationmade by the management module 215 as described above. In an embodiment,fulfilled containers may be provided by the inbound conveyor lane 702,the reading/scanning device 714 may interact with the visual imageidentifiers and provide unique identifier information to the managementmodule 215 to aid in associating inventory for other inventory transferprocesses such as stowing of inventory. The operator 712 may transferinventory from the containers in the upper or lower tiers 706, 708 tothe containers 718 of the container holder 716. The user device 710 mayprovide instructions to the operator 712 indicating which inventory toremove from the fulfilled containers and place in appropriate containers718 of the container holder 716 based on a determination made by themanagement module 215.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example flow for determining a sequence to mergecontainers with inventory into an outbound conveyor lane as describedherein, in accordance with at least one embodiment. The example flow 800illustrated in FIG. 8 includes one or more operations. However, theorder in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described operationscan be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement thedescribed flow. The flow 800 may include receiving an indication thatcontainers with inventory are ready to merge into an outbound conveyorlane from one or more inventory transfer stations at 802. Inembodiments, upon an operator 804 transferring fulfilled containers toan accumulation lane or area of an inventory transfer station 806, aqueue indication 808 or other indication may be provided to theinventory management system 810. As described herein, each inventorytransfer station 806 may be configured to utilize optical density sensortechnology to determine the presence of a fulfilled container within theaccumulation lane. The inventory management system 810, which implementsthe management module 215, may receive a signal or other indication fromthe optical density sensors and interpret the signal to determine thepresence or absence of a fulfilled container within the accumulationlane of an inventory transfer station 806. The flow 800 may includeobtaining order information associated with inventory included in thecontainers waiting to merge at 812. For example, the inventorymanagement system 810 may obtain or maintain order information from aplurality of customers for inventory included in containers within theworkspace or facility. The inventory management system 810 maycommunicate with an electronic marketplace to obtain or maintain theorders for the inventory stored within the facility or workspace. Asdescribed herein, as empty containers are fed or provided to eachinventory transfer station, a reading or scanning device may interactwith a barcode or identifier of the container to associate a customerorder with inventory stored within the facility or workspace, e.g., in aparticular container holder.

The flow 800 may include determining prioritization information for thefulfilled containers, and their inventory, that are awaiting merginginstructions to a shared outbound conveyor lane based on the orderinformation associated with the inventory at 814. In embodiments, theinventory management system 810 may utilize the order information todetermine whether a particular fulfilled container should be merged oroutput to the outbound conveyor lane before other fulfilled containersin order to meet shipping and/or processing deadlines associated withthe order. For example, a particular customer order and inventorypairing represented by the fulfilled container may have an expeditedshipping deadline that must take priority over other non-expeditedcustomer orders to meet expected shipping and fulfillment deadlines. Theinventory management system 810 may also receive or obtain other metricsfrom the facility or workspace that indicate bottlenecks, obstructions,or other upstream or downstream delays within the facility and properlyadjust the prioritization information to associate with each fulfilledcontainer awaiting merging within the outbound conveyor lane. In anembodiment, determining prioritization information for the fulfilledcontainers may be based on performance metrics of the inventory transferstations in cases where inventory is being transferred from onefacility/workspace to another facility/workspace or for consolidationrequests to move inventory from one area within the facility/workspaceto another area of the same facility/workspace. Further, theprioritization information may still be based on shipping and/orprocessing deadlines associated with the inventory transfer requests ortasks being fulfilled by a particular inventory transfer station.

The flow 800 may include determining a sequence to merge the containersinto the outbound conveyor lane based on the prioritization informationand inventory transfer station metrics at 816. In embodiments, theinventory management system 810 may obtain/maintain or receive inventorytransfer station metrics 818 from each inventory transfer station 806within a facility. For example, the inventory transfer station metrics816 may include operator throughput speed, conveyor lane speedinformation, VRC speed information, de-stacking speed of an associatedempty container de-stacker, time stamps of fulfilled containers receivedat the accumulation area, total dwell time of a fulfilled containerwithin the facility before shipping from each inventory transferstation, equipment effectiveness information (such as voltage or currentrequired by various components of the inventory transfer station), orany other suitable metric that may be obtained from an inventorytransfer station for determining the effectiveness and speed offulfilling customer orders by said station. In an embodiment, theinventory management system 810 may utilize the prioritizationinformation and the inventory transfer station metrics 818 to determinean optimal sequence to merge fulfilled containers from one or moreinventory transfer station accumulation areas to a shared outboundconveyor lane. The determined optimal sequence to merge fulfilledcontainers may indicate which order and at what time point eachfulfilled container should be released from the accumulation area inorder to maximize efficiency of processing orders and take into accountany exceptions such as priority orders. The flow 800 may conclude byproviding instructions to the one or more inventory transfer stations tomerge the containers into the outbound conveyor lane in accordance withthe determined sequence at 820. In embodiments, the inventory managementsystem 810 may provide merge instructions 822 to each inventory transferstation 806 that indicate which fulfilled containers to release to theoutbound conveyor lane and at what time point to release saidcontainers. In an embodiment, the merge instructions may be provideddirectly to the inventory transfer station 806 to release the fulfilledcontainers, or signals and data may be sent to discrete components ofeach inventory transfer station 806 to proceed with releasing thefulfilled containers (such as sending release signals to actuator/lockconfigurations that hold the fulfilled containers within theaccumulation area). Additional lock and release mechanisms may beutilized in the inventory transfer stations to enable the proper mergingof fulfilled containers according to instructions provided by theinventory management system 810. For example, controlledrollers/conveyors may be utilized in the accumulation area, a movingarm/plate may block/unblock an exit from the accumulation area to theoutbound conveyor lane, signals may be provided to increase/decrease anincline of the accumulation area to move the fulfilled containers to theoutbound conveyor lane by gravity, or any combination of the methodsdescribed herein or any suitable variations may be utilized totemporarily store and release fulfilled containers from the accumulationarea to the outbound conveyor lane.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram depicting example acts forimplementing techniques relating to managing movement of inventory at aninventory transfer station included in an inventory management system asdescribed herein, in accordance with at least one embodiment. Themanagement module 215 (FIGS. 2 and 3) may perform the process 900 ofFIG. 9. The process 900 begins at 902 by instructing a mobile drive unitto move a container holder to an inventory transfer station. Inembodiments, the mobile drive unit may be instructed to move a containerholder from an area, such as a storage area, within a workspace to aninventory transfer station. The container holder may include one or morecontainers that are each configured to receive and store one or moreitems. At 904, the process 900 instructs the transfer of an emptycontainer from an inbound conveyor lane to an item transfer lane (e.g.,upper or lower tier of the two tier container staging area referred toin FIGS. 1, 4, 5, and 7) at the inventory transfer station. In anembodiment, the empty container may be received at the inventorytransfer station via a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC) that iscoupled with the inbound conveyor lane.

At 906, the process 900 instructs removal of an item, by an operator,from the container holder and placement of the item in the emptycontainer. In embodiments, instructing transfer of an item from thecontainer holder may indicate removal of an item from a particularcontainer within the container holder. Placing the item in a previouslyempty container may thereby create a fulfilled container that is readyfor transfer. In an embodiment, the operator transferring the item froma particular container within the container holder to an empty containermay include providing instructions to an automated robotic member thatis configured to receive inventory transfer instructions from themanagement module 215. At 908, the process 900 instructs transfer of thefulfilled container to an accumulation area of the inventory transferstation. In embodiments, the accumulation area may be connected to theitem transfer lane and coupled with an outbound conveyor lane that isconfigured to move fulfilled containers to the VRC or other downstreamprocesses or components. The accumulation area may utilize a lockmechanism that is coupled to an actuator to prevent transfer of thefulfilled containers to the outbound conveyor lane until instructionsare received from the management module 215. The process 900 mayconclude at 910 by instructing, via a lock mechanism associated with theaccumulation area, transfer of the fulfilled container to an outboundconveyor lane. In an embodiment, the outbound conveyor lane may beconfigured to transfer the fulfilled containers to the VRC that willfurther transfer the fulfilled containers to other areas of theworkspace/facility for further processing (shipping, packaging, etc.)via an outbound trunk lane or other suitable transfer techniques.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram depicting example acts forimplementing techniques relating to determining a sequence to mergecontainers with inventory into an outbound conveyor lane as describedherein, in accordance with at least one embodiment. The managementmodule 215 (FIGS. 2 and 3) may perform the process 1000 of FIG. 10. Theprocess 1000 begins at 1002 by receiving a customer order for an itemmaintained within a workspace. The workspace may include a plurality ofcontainer holders including one or more containers configured to receiveand store one or more items. At 1004, the process 1000 instructsmovement of a container holder by an unmanned mobile drive unit to aninventory transfer station based on the customer order. As describedabove, the inventory transfer station may be located within theworkspace. At 1006, the process 1000 provides instructions to move anitem from the container holder to an empty container at the inventorytransfer station. As described above, the inventory transfer station mayinclude a two tier container staging area for temporarily holding andprocessing empty containers before an associate places one or more itemswithin the container, thereby generating a fulfilled container.

At 1008, the process 1000 receives information indicating that aplurality of containers are ready to be merged. In an embodiment, theinformation may be received from an accumulation area of the inventorytransfer station and the plurality of containers may be ready to mergeinto an outbound conveyor lane associated with the inventory transferstation. At 1010, the process 1000 obtains inventory transfer stationperformance metrics. In an embodiment, the inventory transfer stationperformance metrics may indicate customer order throughput for theparticular inventory transfer station. At 1012, the process 1000determines prioritization information for a fulfilled container thatincludes the item. The prioritization information may be determinedbased on the customer order and the inventory transfer stationperformance metrics. At 1014, the process 1000 determines a sequencethat indicates when to release each container to an outbound conveyorlane. Each container may be released and merged into the outboundconveyor lane from the accumulation area based on the inventory transferstation performance metrics and the prioritization information. Theprocess 1000 may conclude at 1016 by instructing the inventory transferstation to release each container according to the determined sequence.In an embodiment, instructions may be provided directly to theaccumulation area, by providing signals or indications to actuators andlock mechanisms associated with the accumulation area, to merge andrelease each container.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram depicting example acts forimplementing techniques relating to determining a sequence to mergecontainers with inventory into an outbound conveyor lane as describedherein, in accordance with at least one embodiment. The managementmodule 215 (FIGS. 2 and 3) may perform the process 1100 of FIG. 11. Theprocess 1100 begins at 1102 by maintaining performance metrics for oneor more inventory transfer stations within a workspace. The performancemetrics may indicate the effectiveness of an operator associated with aninventory transfer station or the equipment effectiveness of theinventory transfer station. At 1104, the process 1100 receivesinformation indicating that a plurality of fulfilled containers areready to be merged into a conveyor lane. The information may be receivedfrom one or more inventory transfer stations within the workspace. At1106, the process 1100 determines a merging sequence that indicates whento release each fulfilled container based on the performance metrics andthe information. In an embodiment, the merging sequence is determined bya machine learning algorithm that utilizes the performance metrics andthe information from each inventory transfer station. The process 1100may conclude at 1108 by instructing the one or more inventory transferstations to release and merge each fulfilled container in accordancewith the determined merging sequence. As described above, the determinedmerging sequence may be further updated or changed based onprioritization information derived from customer orders associated withthe items residing in the fulfilled containers awaiting merging.

FIG. 12 illustrates aspects of an example environment 1200 forimplementing aspects in accordance with various embodiments. As will beappreciated, although a Web-based environment is used for purposes ofexplanation, different environments may be used, as appropriate, toimplement various embodiments. The environment includes an electronicclient device 1202, which can include any appropriate device operable tosend and receive requests, messages, or information over an appropriatenetwork 1204 and convey information back to a user of the device.Examples of such client devices include personal computers, cell phones,handheld messaging devices, laptop computers, set-top boxes, personaldata assistants, electronic book readers, and the like. The network caninclude any appropriate network, including an intranet, the Internet, acellular network, a local area network or any other such network orcombination thereof. Components used for such a system can depend atleast in part upon the type of network and/or environment selected.Protocols and components for communicating via such a network are wellknown and will not be discussed herein in detail. Communication over thenetwork can be enabled by wired or wireless connections and combinationsthereof. In this example, the network includes the Internet, as theenvironment includes a Web server 1206 for receiving requests andserving content in response thereto, although for other networks analternative device serving a similar purpose could be used as would beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The illustrative environment includes at least one application server1208 and a data store 1210. It should be understood that there can beseveral application servers, layers, or other elements, processes orcomponents, which may be chained or otherwise configured, which caninteract to perform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriatedata store. As used herein the term “data store” refers to any device orcombination of devices capable of storing, accessing, and retrievingdata, which may include any combination and number of data servers,databases, data storage devices and data storage media, in any standard,distributed or clustered environment. The application server can includeany appropriate hardware and software for integrating with the datastore as needed to execute aspects of one or more applications for theclient device, handling a majority of the data access and business logicfor an application. The application server provides access controlservices in cooperation with the data store and is able to generatecontent such as text, graphics, audio and/or video to be transferred tothe user, which may be served to the user by the Web server in the formof HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”), Extensible Markup Language(“XML”) or another appropriate structured language in this example. Thehandling of all requests and responses, as well as the delivery ofcontent between the client device 1202 and the application server 1208,can be handled by the Web server. It should be understood that the Weband application servers are not required and are merely examplecomponents, as structured code discussed herein can be executed on anyappropriate device or host machine as discussed elsewhere herein.

The data store 1210 can include several separate data tables, databasesor other data storage mechanisms and media for storing data relating toa particular aspect. For example, the data store illustrated includesmechanisms for storing information which can be used by modulesdescribed herein, such as merging logic information 1212, performancemetric information 1214, and/or item order information 1216. It shouldbe understood that there can be many other aspects that may need to bestored in the data store, such as for page image information and toaccess right information, which can be stored in any of the above listedmechanisms as appropriate or in additional mechanisms in the data store1210. The data store 1210 is operable, through logic associatedtherewith, to receive instructions from the application server 1208 andobtain, update or otherwise process data in response thereto.

Each server typically will include an operating system that providesexecutable program instructions for the general administration andoperation of that server and typically will include a computer-readablestorage medium (e.g., a hard disk, random access memory, read onlymemory, etc.) storing instructions that, when executed by a processor ofthe server, allow the server to perform its intended functions. Suitableimplementations for the operating system and general functionality ofthe servers are known or commercially available and are readilyimplemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art, particularly inlight of the disclosure herein.

The environment in one embodiment is a distributed computing environmentutilizing several computer systems and components that areinterconnected via communication links, using one or more computernetworks or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by thoseof ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate equallywell in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than areillustrated in FIG. 12. Thus, the depiction of the system 1200 in FIG.12 should be taken as being illustrative in nature and not limiting tothe scope of the disclosure.

The various embodiments further can be implemented in a wide variety ofoperating environments, which in some cases can include one or more usercomputers, computing devices or processing devices which can be used tooperate any of a number of applications. User or client devices caninclude any of a number of general purpose personal computers, such asdesktop or laptop computers running a standard operating system, as wellas cellular, wireless and handheld devices running mobile software andcapable of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols.Such a system also can include a number of workstations running any of avariety of commercially-available operating systems and other knownapplications for purposes such as development and database management.These devices also can include other electronic devices, such as dummyterminals, thin-clients, gaming systems and other devices capable ofcommunicating via a network.

Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiar tothose skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of avariety of commercially-available protocols, such as TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”), Open SystemInterconnection (“OSI”), File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”), Universal Plugand Play (“UpnP”), Network File System (“NFS”), Common Internet FileSystem (“CIFS”) and AppleTalk. The network can be, for example, a localarea network, a wide-area network, a virtual private network, theInternet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network,an infrared network, a wireless network, and/or any combination thereof.

In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of avariety of server or mid-tier applications, including Hypertext TransferProtocol (“HTTP”) servers, FTP servers, Common Gateway Interface (“CGI”)servers, data servers, Java servers and business application servers.The server(s) also may be capable of executing programs or scripts inresponse requests from user devices, such as by executing one or moreWeb applications that may be implemented as one or more scripts orprograms written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C# orC++, or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python or TCL, as well ascombinations thereof. The server(s) may also include database servers,including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®,Microsoft®, Sybase®, and IBM®.

The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memoryand storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety oflocations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) oneor more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computersacross the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the informationmay reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”) familiar to those skilledin the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functionsattributed to the computers, servers or other network devices may bestored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includescomputerized devices, each such device can include hardware elementsthat may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, forexample, at least one central processing unit (“CPU”), at least oneinput device (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch screen orkeypad) and at least one output device (e.g., a display device, printeror speaker). Such a system may also include one or more storage devices,such as disk drives, optical storage devices and solid-state storagedevices such as random access memory (“RAM”) or read-only memory(“ROM”), as well as removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards,etc.

Such devices also can include a computer-readable storage media reader,a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless orwired), an infrared communication device, etc.) and working memory asdescribed above. The computer-readable storage media reader can beconnected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storagemedium, representing remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storagedevices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanentlycontaining, storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readableinformation. The system and various devices also typically will includea number of software applications, modules, services or other elementslocated within at least one working memory device, including anoperating system and application programs, such as a client applicationor Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments mayhave numerous variations from that described above. For example,customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements mightbe implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, suchas applets) or both. Further, connection to other computing devices suchas network input/output devices may be employed.

Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, orportions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in theart, including storage media and communication media, such as but notlimited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data, including RAM, ROM, Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (“EEPROM”), flash memory or other memorytechnology, Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (“CD-ROM”), digital versatiledisk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by the a system device. Based at least in part on thedisclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement thevarious embodiments.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the disclosure asset forth in the claims.

Other variations are within the spirit of the present disclosure. Thus,while the disclosed techniques are susceptible to various modificationsand alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereofare shown in the drawings and have been described above in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit theinvention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary,the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructionsand equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, asdefined in the appended claims.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the disclosed embodiments (especially in thecontext of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both thesingular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearlycontradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,”and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning“including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. The term“connected” is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within,attached to, or joined together, even if there is something intervening.Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as ashorthand method of referring individually to each separate valuefalling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein and eachseparate value is incorporated into the specification as if it wereindividually recited herein. All methods described herein can beperformed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein orotherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and allexamples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, isintended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention anddoes not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unlessotherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construedas indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice ofthe invention.

Preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, includingthe best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention.Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. Theinventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations asappropriate and the inventors intend for the invention to be practicedotherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, thisinvention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subjectmatter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicablelaw. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in allpossible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unlessotherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

All references, including publications, patent applications and patents,cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each reference were individually and specifically indicated to beincorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inventory management system, comprising: aplurality of containers, each configured to receive one or more items; aplurality of container holders arranged within an area of a workspace,each of the plurality of container holders including one or morecontainers; a plurality of unmanned mobile drive units, each unmannedmobile drive unit configured to move a container holder of the pluralityof container holders within the workspace; and an item pick stationwithin the workspace, the item pick station comprising: an elevatorassembly comprising: a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC) configuredto receive one or more containers; and an elevator shaft configured toallow movement of the VRC within the elevator assembly; a two tiercontainer staging area; an inbound conveyor lane configured to receivean empty container, of the one or more containers, from the VRC and movethe empty container from the VRC to the two tier container staging area,the inbound conveyor lane operatively connected with the VRC; and anoutbound conveyor lane configured to move a fulfilled container, of theone or more containers, from the two tier container staging area to theVRC, the fulfilled container including at least one item of the one ormore items, the outbound conveyor lane operatively connected with theVRC, wherein the two tier container staging area comprises: an uppertier of the two tier container staging area configured to receive emptycontainers of the plurality of containers from the inbound conveyorlane; a lower tier of the two tier container staging area configured toreceive empty containers transferred from the upper tier by an operatorassociated with the item pick station; an accumulation area that isconnected to the lower tier and configured to temporarily storefulfilled containers for subsequent movement to the outbound conveyorlane; and a management module configured to: instruct movement, by theunmanned mobile drive unit, of the container holder from the area of theworkspace to the item pick station; instruct removal of an item from theone or more containers of the container holder and placement of the itemin an empty container within one of the upper tier or lower tier,thereby resulting in the empty container becoming the fulfilledcontainer; instruct transfer of the fulfilled container from the one ofthe upper tier or the lower tier to the accumulation area; and instructrelease of the fulfilled container to the outbound conveyor lane.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a second item pick stationcomprising a second two tier container staging area that is configuredto share and utilize at least one of the elevator assembly, the inboundconveyor lane, the outbound conveyor lane, or the management module. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein the elevator assembly and the inboundconveyor lane are configured to receive fulfilled containers and providethe fulfilled containers to the two tier container staging area and theoutbound conveyor lane is configured to move the empty containers fromthe two tier container staging area to the VRC, wherein the managementmodule is further configured to instruct removal of items from fulfilledcontainers at the two tier container staging area and placement of theitems in the one or more containers of the container holder uponreceiving an indication from the workspace.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the outbound conveyor lane is coupled with a processing trunkline that moves the fulfilled container to another area of theworkspace.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the accumulation areaincludes a lock mechanism coupled to an actuator, the lock mechanismconfigured to release the fulfilled containers to the outbound conveyorlane upon receiving instructions from the management module, the lockmechanism including at least one of a pneumatic obstruction lock, aswivel arm configuration lock, or conveyor wheels.
 6. An inventorymanagement system, comprising: an inventory transfer station within anarea of a workspace, the inventory transfer station comprising: abi-directional conveyor lane; a container staging area; and an elevatorassembly comprising: a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC) configuredto receive containers from and transfer containers to the bi-directionalconveyor lane, wherein the bi-directional conveyor lane is configured totransfer empty containers from the VRC to the container staging area andtransfer fulfilled containers from the container staging area to theVRC, the fulfilled containers including at least one item, and whereinthe container staging area comprises: a container flow lane configuredto receive the empty containers from the bi-directional conveyor laneand, in response to placement of an item in an empty container by anoperator, transfer the fulfilled container to an accumulation area; theaccumulation area coupled to the container flow lane and configured totemporarily store the fulfilled containers for subsequent transfer tothe bi-directional conveyor lane upon receiving instructions from amanagement module; and the management module configured to: instructplacement of a particular item in the empty container within thecontainer flow lane; instruct transfer of the fulfilled container fromthe container flow lane to the accumulation area; and instruct transferof the fulfilled container from the accumulation area to thebi-directional conveyor lane.
 7. The system of claim 6, furthercomprising a second inventory transfer station comprising a secondcontainer staging area that includes a second container flow lane and asecond accumulation area, the second container staging area configuredto share and utilize at least one of the elevator assembly, thebi-directional conveyor lane, or the management module.
 8. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the bi-directional conveyor lane is further configuredto transfer the fulfilled containers from the VRC to the containerstaging area and transfer the empty containers to the VRC from thecontainer staging area, wherein the management module is furtherconfigured to instruct removal of items from the fulfilled containers atthe container staging area.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein theinventory transfer station within the area of the workspace includes afirst floor of the workspace, the second inventory transfer stationresiding within a second area of the workspace that includes a secondfloor of the workspace, the elevator assembly shared between theinventory transfer station and the second inventory transfer station andfurther configured to receive and transfer the containers to thebi-directional conveyor lane of the inventory transfer station on thefirst floor and the second inventory transfer station on the secondfloor.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the inventory transfer stationof the first floor of the workspace is configured to place items in theempty containers and the second inventory transfer station of the secondfloor of the workspace is configured to remove items from the fulfilledcontainers.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the inventory transferstation of the first floor can be updated from placing items in theempty containers to removing items from the fulfilled containers uponreceiving instructions from the management module, the instructionsgenerated based at least in part on an indication that the secondinventory transfer station of the second floor of the workspace hasmalfunctioned.
 12. The system of claim 6, wherein the bi-directionalconveyor lane is further configured to transfer the fulfilled containerto another area of the workspace via at least one of a directionallydeclining chute or a directionally inclining trunk conveyor line. 13.The system of claim 6, wherein the bi-directional conveyor lane utilizesa sequencing belt that is coupled with a variable control drive, themanagement module further configured to increase or decrease conveyorlane speed for the bi-directional conveyor lane via the variable controldrive based at least in part on received customer orders for one or moreitems in the fulfilled containers.
 14. An inventory management system,comprising: an inventory transfer station within a first area of aworkspace, the inventory transfer station comprising: a bi-directionalconveyor lane; and a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC) configured toreceive and transfer containers to the bi-directional conveyor lane, thebi-directional conveyor lane configured to transfer empty containers, ofthe containers, from the VRC to a container staging area and transferfulfilled containers, of the containers, from the container staging areato the VRC, the fulfilled containers including at least one item,wherein the container staging area comprises: a container flow laneconfigured to store the empty containers received from thebi-directional conveyor lane; and an accumulation area coupled to thecontainer flow lane and configured to temporarily store the fulfilledcontainers and transfer the fulfilled containers to the bi-directionalconveyor lane upon receiving instructions from a management module,wherein the management module is configured to: instruct a mobile driveunit to move a container holder from a second area within the workspaceto the inventory transfer station, the container holder including one ormore containers of a plurality of containers, an individual containerconfigured to receive and store one or more items; instruct transfer ofan empty container to the container flow lane via the bi-directionalconveyor lane; instruct removal of an item, by an operator, from aparticular container within the container holder at the inventorytransfer station and placement of the item, by the operator, into theempty container in the container flow lane thereby creating a fulfilledcontainer; instruct transfer of the fulfilled container to theaccumulation area, the accumulation area including a lock mechanismcoupled to an actuator, the lock mechanism configured to preventtransfer of the fulfilled containers to the bi-directional conveyor laneuntil instructions are received; and instruct, via the actuator and thelock mechanism of the accumulation area, transfer of the fulfilledcontainer from the accumulation area to the bi-directional conveyorlane.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein instructing transfer of thefulfilled container to the accumulation area, by the management module,includes sending a signal to a motorized section of rollers that arecoupled to at least one of the container flow lane or the accumulationarea.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the management module isfurther configured to instruct transfer of the empty containers from acontainer de-stacker to the VRC, the container de-stacker configured tosingle out the empty container from the empty containers, a rate ofsingling out the empty container from the empty containers being updatedbased at least in part on operator throughput metrics that aremaintained by the management module.
 17. The system of claim 14, whereininstructing removal of the item from the particular container within thecontainer holder at the inventory transfer station and placement of theitem into the empty container in the container flow lane includesproviding instructions to a robotic or automated manipulator associatedwith the inventory transfer station.
 18. The system of claim 14, whereinthe empty container includes an image based scanning identifier that isunique for each container.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein themanagement module is further configured to instruct scanning of theimage based scanning identifier of the empty container by a user deviceat the inventory transfer station as the empty container is transferredto the container flow lane via the bi-directional conveyor lane.
 20. Thesystem of claim 19, wherein the management module is further configuredto associate a customer order with the empty container based at least inpart on information associated with the customer order and the imagebased scanning identifier of the scanned empty container.